A native mobile appis a smartphone application coded in a specific programming language, such as Objective C for iOS and Java for Android operating systems. Native mobile apps provide fast performance and a high degree of reliability. Accessibility to various feature forcing s of a phone (such as its camera or contact list) can be easily gained through native mobile apps. Additionally, internet connection is not always required for native mobile apps as some apps are designed to operate without connection. However, this type of app is often costly to develop since it is tied to one type of operating system, forcing the developing company to create multiple versions in order for the app to work on different platforms.

Companies that are looking to promote themselves to the smartphone market have other options beyond native mobile apps:

- Hybrid App: This type of application has cross-platform compatibility but can still access a phone’s hardware.

- Cross-platform app: Within recent years, cross-platform apps has been something of an emerging phenomenon because of its utility. With cross-platform app, you can reach a wider range of audience using popular frameworks.

- Progressive Web App: A website that is tailored to function on a mobile device. These are tailored to a specific platform and will not work on other smartphones or feature phones.

During the early stages of the smartphone market, most of the apps were tailored to the market’s needs at the time which was iPhone users. However, market share for Android phones later on grew, thus the need for cross-platform availability became a pressing and inevitable issue.